Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
Daemon
The sun barely peeked over the horizon when something pulled Daemon from his sleep.
An inky feeling settled in his stomach, roiling and turning over as worry ebbed and flowed for reasons he didn’t quite understand.
He’d fallen into a dreamless sleep with Auraelia tucked against his chest, her hair tickling his nose with each inhale.
It had been the most at peace he’d felt in a while, yet when he reached out of her, her spot was empty.
Cold, as if she hadn’t been there for some time.
Sitting up, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and waited for them to adjust to the room's dim light.
He was just about to call out for her when he spotted her curled up in one of the armchairs—a blanket wrapped around her shoulders as she stared out the frosty panes of her window.
She looked at peace, her features relaxed as she rested her chin on her knees, the early morning glow shimmering through the glass and kissing her cheeks.
“Is everything alright, my star?” he asked hesitantly, not wanting to startle her.
She hummed in response, her gaze never shifting from the window.
“Auraelia, my love. Come back to bed. You need your rest.”
“I woke up about an hour ago, and I just…I couldn’t go back to sleep.” She shrugged, turning to rest her chin on her shoulder as she gave him a small smile.
Despite the uptilt of her lips, he could see the toll everything was taking on her. Stress rolled off of her and crashed into him like waves upon the sand, and the stardust that usually sparkled in her eyes had dimmed.
Pushing up from the bed, Daemon quickly pulled on his trousers and crossed the room.
Her smile broadened slightly when he kneeled in front of her, and she scooted to the edge of the chair, wrapping her arms and legs around him and cocooning them in the warmth of her blanket before bringing her lips to his.
“Can I get you anything?” he asked as he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.
“I’m okay.”
“My star, I could see your thoughts churning from across the room. Talk to me.”
Blowing out a heavy breath, Auraelia pulled her gaze from his and returned to look out the window. “Something doesn’t…feel right. I don’t know how to explain it.” She shook her head, sinking back into the chair as her gaze fell to her lap.
Daemon wrapped her hands in one of his and used the other to urge her gaze back to his face. “You can’t plan for everything. It’s not possible. We’ve done the best we can with the information that we’ve been given.”
“I know,” she expelled a shuddered breath, the sound a tight grip around his heart. “But it’s like we’re missing something. We’ve been so focused on what Davina is doing that it just seems like I’ve forgotten something.”
Daemon watched as she spiraled back into herself, the rapid turning of wheels in her mind evident in the way her eyes flicked back and forth, like she was trying to solve a puzzle only she could see.
Never in his life had he wished for his mother’s abilities over his own.
But the ability to be inside her head, to know what kept her from sleep the one night that she needed it the most, would have been more helpful than his shadows on his best day.
Unwrapping her legs from his torso, Daemon stood and scooped her out of the chair, taking her place and setting her on his lap. “If you’re awake, my star, then so am I. And maybe we can figure this out together.”
Auraelia settled into him, resting her head on his shoulder as they both stared out the window and watched the sun paint the sky in a wash of lavender and pink.
And for a moment—one brief moment—everything felt like it would turn out the way he wanted it to.
That they would get the ending that Astraea and Killian never got the chance to have.
That they would make it through this war together.
But that dream ended with the sound of a door ricocheting off a wall and Piper screeching their names as she barreled into Auraelia’s sitting room.
“D! Come on man, get up!” Aiden bellowed, evidently close on Piper’s heels.
Auraelia jumped from his lap, the blanket falling to the floor as she sprinted to grab her robe from the edge of the bed. Her eyes were wide when she whirled around and met his. Worry and panic swirled in her storm-colored irises, her breath coming in short, shallow pants as her anxiety took root.
Not now. It’s too soon.
Not bothering with walking, Daemon pulled on his shadows until he was standing in front of her, wrapping her in his embrace until she could take a full breath. “Breathe, my star. We don’t even know why they’re here.”
“It sure as hell isn’t a good reason,” she mumbled into his chest.
“D!”
“Rae!”
Piper and Aiden called out in unison. He could hear the urgency in their tone, but he wasn’t willing to let Auraelia go. Not until he was sure she was breathing steadily, and he was sure she would be able to handle whatever problem lay beyond that door.
“Rae, I don’t care if he’s balls deep, I will come in there! I will scar myself for life if I have to!” Piper yelled from right on the other side of the door, her tone an octave higher than usual.
“Fuck off, give us a second. Goddess,” Daemon hollered before taking a deep breath to calm the irritation that had begun to swirl in his chest. “Are you ready?” he whispered, tilting Auraelia’s face up to his.
The panic had ebbed, but worry was still present in her gaze when she laced her fingers with his and nodded.
“Okay.” He gave her a small smile, then pressed a kiss to her brow before guiding her to the door. When he pushed it open, Piper and Aiden were pacing the floor.
“What the fuck is going on?” he growled.
“It’s your Dad,” Aiden began.
“Pearl is on the move, Daemon. You need to go,” Piper finished, sympathy filling her gaze as it flicked between him and her best friend.
“What did you see, Piper?” The strength had come back to Auraelia’s voice, her spine ramrod straight as she honed in on her friend.
There’s my girl. One corner of Daemon’s lips lifted as he looked down at her.
Despite her fear of what the day would bring, he knew she wouldn’t let it hold her back.
Wouldn’t let it overwhelm her. He knew she was strong, but seeing her step into her strength when she looked like she would break just moments ago was a sight that would never cease to awe and impress him.
“I can show you.” Piper’s gaze shifted from Auraelia to him.
“Me?” he questioned, his eyes wide as they met the clairvoyant’s all-seeing gaze.
“I mean…I can show Auraelia, but it would be faster and more beneficial to just show you directly.” Urgency bled into every word, but there was also hesitancy there.
Like she wasn’t sure about this idea either.
When he didn’t respond, she rolled her eyes and closed the distance between them, holding out her hand for his.
“Just breathe, okay? It’s the fastest way. ”
Before he could even respond, Piper seized his hand, and it immediately felt like he was being held underwater.
Like he was drowning, his lungs constricting in his chest from the onslaught of Piper’s power running through his system.
Auraelia’s voice filtered into his mind, urging him to breathe, and he had to force his lungs to draw in air.
White swirls of fog spilled across his vision for a moment before it cleared away to show the bloodbath that was to befall his father’s troops.
The Court of Pearl had moved sooner than they’d anticipated, catching the Court of Opal and his father’s soldiers unaware, ending the lives of so many good men and women.
Though as quickly as that vision had appeared, it was replaced with another.
One where he was on the field, fighting alongside his people with victory within their grasp as Pearl’s forces fell and retreated around them.
The differences between the two were drastic.
One led to catastrophic losses, the other—possible victory.
As the fog began to roll across his vision once more, Piper removed her hand, and he had to blink a few times for his vision to clear.
“Why were there two?” he demanded.
“Because you haven’t decided.” Her voice was low but sure as if she’d seen his question coming—and when he thought about it, she probably had.
After taking a deep breath, she continued.
“The future… it’s not set in stone. It’s constantly changing.
But one thing is certain; if you do not go to their aid, they will fall. ”
“Daemon,” Auraelia breathed, her gaze shooting to his, panic once again swimming in her eyes.
“Can you two give us a moment?” he asked, not bothering to look Piper and Aiden’s way. When the door was closed behind them, Daemon tried to speak, but Auraelia cut him off.
“You have to go.”
“Auraelia—”
“No, Daemon. This isn’t a discussion that we should be having. It’s your father! Your people! What about them? What about Yvaine? Sariah? You can’t leave them to do this alone.”
Daemon gently cradled her face in his hands, pleading with her to see reason even when he knew she was right. “Please, don’t do this. We’re supposed to do this together. We have to bring her down together.”
“Daemon, my love. I don’t want you to go, but you have to. They need you.”
“You need me.” Anguish filled every word, his heart cleaving in two at the path that Dalia was forcing them to walk.
Tears welled in her eyes, turning them a bright shade of aquamarine that made her look so much like Astraea at that moment that Daemon’s breath caught in his throat.
“They need you more.” Her lip trembled as she held his gaze, her voice wavering as she spoke. “I–I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to your family. Neither could you.”
“I can’t live if something happens to you. You are my life, Auraelia.”